A district court judge temporarily blocked portions of Florida’s Individual Freedom Act—also known as the Stop WOKE Act—related to private businesses on Thursday on the grounds they violated the First Amendment. CNN’s Don Lemon and Bakari Sellers used the ruling and latter’s Thursday show to argue that the education portions of the bill show that Gov. Ron DeSantis is an anti-intellectual who wants Floridians to be dumber.
After Republican strategist defended the education portion of the law, Lemon tried to shift the conversation to the invalidated private sector portions, “Bill does not mention Critical Race Theory. Its intention was to prevent teaching or training that suggests a person is privileged or oppressed based on their race or color, their sex, or their national origin. The judge says, ‘if Florida truly believes we live in a post-racial society, then let it make its case. But it cannot win the argument by muzzling its opponents.” I mean, go on. What do you think—what do you think-- of that?’”
Sellers did not answer the question, alleging the entire thing to be “kind of silly” because “white privilege is a thing.”
After trying to prove his point by citing the former CEO of WeWork, Sellers, ignoring the present conversation and all the similar ones on CNN in recent times, argued, “If we want to talk about people's place in this country because of who they love or the color of their skin or who they pray to, then we really have to have a honest conversation. We've never dealt with the issue of race.”
Getting back to DeSantis, Sellers declared, “And what Ron DeSantis wants to do in the state of Florida is make us dumber. Ron DeSantis is pushing – it’s not wokeness, it's not white privilege, it's anti-intellectualism. And I've said this before, I'll say it again, not everybody wants to be as anti-intellectual as Ron DeSantis. And the fact of the matter is this: he does not want individuals to feel empowered knowing their real history.”
Later, he insisted that all he wants is to be able to tell the truth, “I don't care if it's called woke, I don't care if it's called white privilege, I don't care what term you want to put on it. I want to be honest about this country's history” while DeSantis lives “in a fairytale land.”
Lemon then turned back to Stewart and asked how the idea of white privilege makes people feel inferior. Stewart replied that it leads to the belief that “they owe something to other students.”
She might as well have not answered, because Lemon either wasn’t listening or didn’t care and just had a Republican on to check a box, because he returned to Sellers, asking “Shouldn't we just be teaching the history of this country, which is, you know, black history is American history?”
Like abortion laws, it is clear media personalities commenting on these laws have not read them. There is nothing in the law that prohibits teachings of “racial discrimination, as well as topics relating to the enactment and enforcement of laws resulting in racial oppression.”
Sellers would argue that black people are treated differently in America, which is an argument that he would be allowed to present under the Florida law. He just couldn’t indoctrinate people by insisting it is true while ignoring Stewart’s point of view.
This segment was sponsored by Select Quote.
Here is a transcript for the August 18 show:
CNN Don Lemon Tonight
8/18/2022
11:31 PM ET:
DON LEMON: Okay. Bakari, let's talk about this, because what -- they call it the Stop Woke Act. Bill does not mention Critical Race Theory. Its intention was to prevent teaching or training that suggests a person is privileged or oppressed based on their race or color, their sex, or their national origin.
The judge says, “if Florida truly believes we live in a post-racial society, then let it make its case. But it cannot win the argument by muzzling its opponents.” I mean, go on. What do you think—what do you think-- of that?
BAKARI SELLERS: I mean, this—this—this-- conversation is kind of silly. First of all, white privilege is a thing. I mean, you can look at Silicon Valley, for example, in a recent example. You have the former founder and CEO of WeWork who ran that company into a ground. They lost $40 billion. But again, he got another $350 million worth of investment. He was able to fail not once but twice in a private venture. That was due to his privilege and being a white man.
You have a privilege that exists in this country by the color of your skin. And look, whether or not we want to actually talk about the honest history of our country or not is something totally different. If we want to talk about people's place in this country because of who they love or the color of their skin or who they pray to, then we really have to have a honest conversation. We've never dealt with the issue of race.
And what Ron DeSantis wants to do in the state of Florida is make us dumber. Ron DeSantis is pushing – it’s not wokeness, it's not white privilege, it's anti-intellectualism.
And I've said this before, I'll say it again, not everybody wants to be as anti-intellectual as Ron DeSantis. And the fact of the matter is this: he does not want individuals to feel empowered knowing their real history.
I believe that I can criticize this country because the blood of my family literally runs through the soil of this country. Whether or not it is my grandfather who's a veteran or whether or not it is my father who was shot in the Civil Rights movement, this is a part of our history. My father went to jail not once, but twice, unjustly.
And so, when you consider all of these things in raising Black children in this America, let's tell the truth. I don't care if it's called woke, I don't care if it's called white privilege, I don't care what term you want to put on it. I want to be honest about this country's history.
And Ron DeSantis lives in Disney, weirdly enough. He’s the governor of Florida. He lives in a fairytale land. He doesn't really live in what America really is.
LEMON: How does it-- Alice, how does, you are saying that it makes people feel inferior. How—how-- exactly does it make people feel inferior?
ALICE STEWART: Well, when part of the teaching and part of the conversation that has been introduced tells a child that simply by the color of your skin, you are inferior or you are unduly privileged, that does make someone feel as though that they owe something to other students.
And—and-- here's the thing. When we're talking about diversity and inclusion and equality, the sheer—the mere-- definition of saying that one race is superior than another, goes, flies in the face of making sure that we have equity in our school system. And that's the—that’s the-- message that he's trying to say, we need to take these teachings out of the curriculum and out of the schools.
LEMON: Shouldn't we just be teaching the history of this country, which is, you know, black history is American history?SELLERS: But Don, I don't know – I don’t-- but, Don, we’re not -- I don't want a white kid to feel inferior. I don't want a white kid or a black kid or anybody to feel because of the color of their skin they are inferior. That's the point. But what we are talking about is that there are systems in this country who treat people unequally because of the color of their skin. I mean, there are communities -- Jackson, Mississippi is a predominantly black city, doesn't have clean water. Denmark, South Carolina doesn't have clean water.
We have a criminal justice system that we know black—black-- and brown folks are wrongfully and overly incarcerated. We're talking about black women in this country, who are three to four times more likely to die during childbirth than white women. We're talking about black women who are the largest and most booming small business owners but who have the least access to capital.
I mean, this isn't like a figment of my imagination. I don't believe. I mean, these are real life statistics. So, we're talking about systems of oppression. So, I don't want a white kid to feel any type of way other than understanding what the history is and where we're living now.
I firmly believe there's nothing, there's absolutely nothing that is in this country that we can't reimagine. And that's what I want to do, is allow us to reimagine what this country should be.
